Anybody remember when Cory was in the house?
Cory introduced an entire young generation to the world of politics, though through the eyes of the son of the president's chef in a spinoff series of one of Disney's most popular "young adult" (children's) shows. Nevertheless, my generation became intrigued with the world of American politics. Except Cory led all of us to believe it was something vastly different than it is.
With a new President brings a new age in American history. Like each and every one of his predecessors, President Trump will enter into his new home with new ideas on how to run the country than the man in the Oval Office before him had.
That's a cycle that will probably go on forever or else the Constitution would let us keep electing the same guy over and over again for continuity's sake. You know what that sounds like? A monarchy.
We elect new people for the change in opinion. We elect new people for the change in policies. We elect new people because the Constitution said so.
Speaking of the Constitution, if you don't agree with its infallibility, you might as well stop now. Fair warning.
Because of the separation of church and state, "religious activity" during the inauguration has come under scrutiny. These activities include the reading of Scripture, prayer, and the phrase "So help me, God" in the presidential oath.
Article II of the Constitution states that the presidential oath is actually:
"I do solemnly swear (or affirm) that I will faithfully execute the office of President of the United States, and will to the best of my ability, preserve, protect and defend the Constitution of the United States."
George Washington actually added "So help me, God" to the end of the oath of his own accord and every President since has also stated it that way. The reason for this is that the Framers considered any legally-binding oath to be inherently religious in nature.
In fact, when the Framers established our government, they established it as a religious nation. So, in using these religious undertones in the inauguration, we are keeping to the tradition, placing Donald Trump in the same seat as George Washington, Barack Obama, and everyone in between.
In fact, so as not to seem one-sided, there were a total of six religious leaders to read scripture or offer a prayer during the inauguration. These included a rabbi, a cardinal, and various Protestant preachers, including a female televangelist and the president of the National Hispanic Christian Leadership Conference.
The one thing that rarely seems to be called into question is the President being sworn in with his hand placed on a Bible. And President Trump used two Bibles--one his mother gave him and Abraham Lincoln's--during his ceremony. If we must have a complete separation between church and state in an event that religious in its very nature, why isn't his hand sitting on top of The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn or some other super American book?
Sure, we may not all like Donald Trump. And we may not all agree that we should love our enemies. But setting fire to trashcans and busting out the windows of a Starbucks because he's "not my president," is ridiculous. Nothing can change the outcome of the electoral college that has provided a stable country since the time of the Founders.
It is time to, at the risk of sounding harsh, grow up. I may not necessarily agree with all of the marches and the poster protests, but I do respect those people vastly more than I respect people who loot and vandal and throw a temper tantrum because they're upset.
We must support our President and allow him the chance to govern as we have elected him to. If you are waiting on him to fail, then you are waiting on our country to fail, then you are waiting on you yourself to fail.
In the wise words of Abraham Lincoln, "A house divided against itself cannot stand."
